What Is Compatibility Matching in Online Dating? An Expert Guide

The haters and naysayers can talk down about dating apps all they want, but the truth cannot be denied: Dating apps are the number one way to meet relationship partners. 

Are we surprised? These platforms provide us with on-demand access to a nearly endless supply of singles, vast geographical reach, and interfaces so simple a toddler could use them (although I wouldn’t recommend it; my friend’s three-year-old has matched me with some pretty questionable people). 

The hero at the heart of this digital phenomenon is the almighty algorithm. 

Algorithms — or, more specifically, Compatibility Matching Algorithms (CMAs) — analyze massive amounts of data from singles in your local area (or all over the globe, depending on which app or setting you’re using) and connect dating app users based on various factors deemed suitable or complementary. 

In this article, we’ll explore the inner workings of these AI-based love gurus, including how compatibility matching really works, the latest innovations, and overall success rates. Who knows? By the end of it, we may just turn a couple of naysayers into believers. 

Matching Algorithms | Key Components | Data Analysis & AI | Effectiveness | Trends | Tips

CMAs, the driving force behind the mechanism responsible for approximately 40% of all couples in the US, are intricate mathematical formulas used to create compatible matches between singles looking for love online. 

Algorithms vary between platforms, but the elements involved are pretty much the same:

Data Collection

When a single person takes the leap and creates an online dating profile, they are prompted to provide the platform with information about themselves — their name, age, location, dating preferences, personal interests, and hobbies. 

Sometimes, they can also opt to disclose their height, political affiliation, stance on drug/alcohol use, or even zodiac signs. This personal information, in combination with the user’s interaction patterns on the platform, becomes part of the body of data that CMAs use to help singles unlock potential matches. 

Algorithm Design

Depending on the needs and goals of the specific platform, designers will employ different algorithms. For example, Tinder and Hinge, two of the world’s most downloaded dating apps, connect compatible singles using collaborative filtering. 

This technique essentially involves noting which dating profiles singles tend to interact with and using that pattern of behavior to recommend potential matches. 

Another method referred to as machine learning makes observations about user behavior—such as past swipes, likes, or matches—and improves matchmaking capabilities over time. 

Matching Criteria

Singles hoping to find love (or lust) in the digital space should fill their profiles with as much information about themselves as possible to help guide the algorithm toward a compatible match. These details — such as dating values, interests, political affiliations, etc. — are used by CMAs as criteria for connecting potentially compatible singles. 

CMAs use data compiled from an account holder’s profile—such as personality traits, interests, and relationship goals — to allow singles to minimize the trial-and-error process and connect with well-matched counterparts much quicker.

Personality Traits

Looks fade, but personality stays. This is why most, if not all, dating platforms incorporate personality traits into their compatibility assessments. So Synced, for example, requires its users to complete an assessment based on concepts laid out in the Myers-Briggs personality test. 

This framework measures traits like introversion vs. extroversion, thinking vs. feeling, and judging vs. perceiving. 

eharmony, one of the first dating apps to become a household name, integrates elements from the Big Five Personality Test: extraversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism. 

Interests and Hobbies

Your ideal partner doesn’t necessarily have to love pickleball or the Harry Potter series as much as you do, but having a few common interests doesn’t hurt. 

For example, you could put on your profile that you’re passionate about music, painting, and sports. Using this information, a CMA could pair you with an online cutie who also (drum roll please) likes music, painting, and sports.

Relationship Goals

Another advantage of online matchmaking is that singles can disclose their dating intentions behind the safety of their phone screen.

Most apps allow you to select various dating goals, which typically are categorized as “long-term relationship,” “casual fun,” or “open to everything.” Based on your responses, CMAs will present you with singles who have similar intentions.

Nothing is guaranteed in the game of love, but dating apps help get you that much closer to a perfect match. 

With the data analysis and machine-learning capabilities of CMAs, the dating platforms you know and love (or love to hate) utilize a deeper understanding of human behavior patterns to accurately match you with compatible cuties in the online dating. 

However, such innovative technology has some challenges and ethical implications. We will touch on some issues in the following section.

Utilization of User Data

All user behaviors – such as messaging habits, match frequency, and messaging – are considered valuable data. Algorithms use such data to base their match recommendations. 

This is why we encourage you to ditch the urge to be “cool and mysterious” and fill your profile with as many personal details as possible. The more information the algorithm has to work with, the more likely you will be linked with an optimally compatible match.

Machine Learning Models

If our wants, needs, and goals as online daters are constantly changing, so should our matchmaking algorithms. This is where machine-learning models come in. 

As you log onto the apps and swipe on profiles, CMAs catch onto the types of profiles you gravitate toward and make adaptations to meet your evolving dating goals and habits. This way, your matchmaking success rates can improve over time. 

Ethical Considerations

Online dating culture is a give-and-take deal. On the one hand, the information you’re providing helps the algorithm weed out the absolutely-nots and connect with the hell-yeahs. 

On the other hand, sending these personal details into the digital void can make you vulnerable to privacy breaches and the unethical use of user data. Such is the trade-off of using the all-powerful internet.

Dating apps can make matches based on an array of factors. However, many obstacles stand between them and the 100% matchmaking success rates for which they ferociously strive. 

Take the information below with a grain of salt and discover if dating apps are the best route to take on your love-seeking journey.

Success Rates

Success in the online dating world is hard to define and even harder to track, but we have a few stats demonstrating the power of this AI-fueled mechanism. 

According to a study published by the Pew Research Center, “1 in 10 partnered adults — meaning those who are married, living with a partner or in a committed romantic relationship — met their significant other through a dating site or app.”

The success rate increases when looking at particular demographics. According to the same study: “One-in-five partnered adults under 30 say they met their current spouse or partner on a dating site or app, as do about a quarter of partnered lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults (24%).”

Limitations of Algorithms

As smart as AI is becoming, humans and their relationships are really complex. CMAs just can’t tap into every nuance of attraction. The human psyche is too complex for a math formula to perfectly predict compatibility. Still, the algorithms are listening and getting better all the time, so who knows what will happen next?

User Experience

CMAs and other AI-based technology will play an increasingly pivotal role in how a single person approaches dating. But I would argue that no math formula is more powerful than your gut. 

No one knows what’s best for you more than you do (especially if you’ve put in the work and are committed to healing in therapy), so we recommend that you find a delicate balance between the algorithm’s suggestions and your intuition when making decisions throughout the dating process.

CMAs are like fine wine: They get better with time. In just under three decades — since Match emerged as the first mainstream dating website — dating apps have gone from a stigmatized and cringey way to seek love to a resident icon on the smartphones of millions across the globe. 

Over the decades, online dating has seen many technological innovations and adaptations. Let’s discuss some of the latest trends.

AI Advancements

Compared to our current dating platforms’ capabilities, those of the late 1990s and early 2000s seem positively ancient. Matches were engineered using only basic personal details such as age, location, gender, and preferences. 

The pool of singles utilizing dating platforms was also much smaller than today, meaning algorithms had much less user data from which to conclude.

With the adaptive capacities of modern algorithms and a much more extensive database, CMAs have become much more effective at analyzing user behavior and identifying compatible matches. That’s good news for lonely singles who could use some help selecting partners who have real potential for a relationship.

Niche Dating Platforms

With more and more people adding swipe sites to their dating artillery by the day, companies hoping to attract users to their platforms have implemented customization into the deal. 

As a result, several dating apps specifically catered to LGBTQ+ singles, older adults, Christians, sugar babies/sugar daddies, and even farmers have burst onto the digital love scene and found incredible success. 

User Customization

We’ve said it once, and we’ll say it a million times: Humans are complex creatures.

Thanks to the rapid progression of dating apps, most of the world’s most popular dating apps include features that enable users to refine their search by specifying characteristics of their ideal partner (such as height, dating intentions, ethnicity, education level, and stance on having children). 

There are no hard and fast rules for finding success in digital matchmaking, but you can integrate certain methods into your strategy to maximize positive outcomes. Let’s take a look at a few. 

1. Create a detailed profile

As mentioned previously, the more comprehensive your profile, the better.

That means taking advantage of all of the opportunities to specify preferences (ideal age range, religious practices, dating goals, political affiliations, etc.) and utilizing prompts whenever possible. 

2. Engage with the platform

Much like you can’t expect your perfect person to come knocking at your front door, you can’t expect to connect with compatible matches if you aren’t using the platform with intention.

Remember: Many CMAs find matches by collecting user data over a period of time. The more you swipe, the better the algorithm learns what you like and don’t like in a potential partner. 

3. Be open-minded

It’s a simple fact: if you go into the dating app process with a negative outlook, you’re more likely to manifest a negative reality.

Stay open to the possibilities that the almighty algorithm presents to you, and you might be surprised at the kind of people you’ll meet (or, at the very least, the sort of hilarious date story that will entertain your friend group). 

If you’ve made it to the end of this article and still aren’t sure how you feel about matchmaking algorithms, that’s OK. 

Rest assured, soon enough, their capacity for success will be so impressive that their influence on contemporary dating life will become undeniable. 

This isn’t to say that human intuition and organic, serendipitous interactions should be discounted entirely. If anything, the logical next step would be to find the place where trust in technology, trust in yourself, and, perhaps, trust in the universe’s timing come to meet. 

With the knowledge to tame the algorithms, you confidently navigate the ups and downs of modern romance and discover your perfect match. How’s that for collaborative filtering?